Sell Your Stocks or Step Down Act

Key Points

• The bill would ban the President, Vice President, members of Congress, federal judges, and senior executive branch officials from owning or trading individual stocks, crypto, futures, and similar investments while in office.
• The ban extends to spouses and dependent children of these officials, closing a loophole where family members could trade on inside information even if the official themselves cannot.
• Officials already in these roles would have 30 days after the law passes to sell off banned investments, and anyone who takes a covered job later gets 30 days from their start date.
• Some assets are exempt from the ban, including diversified mutual funds, Treasury bonds, small business interests, and LLCs holding a personal residence.
• Officials who fail to divest face a daily fine equal to 10 percent of the value of their remaining banned holdings, capped at 50 percent, and illegal trades trigger repayment of the trade value plus a $10,000 fine.
• Unlike some existing conflict-of-interest rules, officials forced to sell assets under this law would not get the usual tax deferral, meaning they must pay taxes on gains right away.